10/07/2005

So today we find out that the Vaccine against cervical cancer works, and really well:

An experimental vaccine has proved highly effective at preventing cervical cancer in a two-year study involving more than 12,000 women, researchers reported today.

The vaccine works by making people immune to two types of a sexually transmitted virus that cause most cases of the disease.

The vaccine, Gardasil, is made by Merck, which plans to apply for approval to the Food and Drug Administration before the end of this year and, if the vaccine is approved, to market it in 2006.

But Dobson and the Religious Wrong are going to be incensed! Why?

More from today's article:

If it were widely used, the vaccine could save many lives. Worldwide, there are about 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer a year, and 290,000 deaths. Most of the cases and most of the deaths occur in poorer countries where women do not have regular Pap tests, which can detect cancers or precancers early enough for them to be cured. In the United States, where Pap tests are common, 10,400 new cases are expected in 2005, and 3,700 deaths.

"A lot of people are really excited," said Dr. Deborah Saslow, director of breast and gynecological cancer at the American Cancer Society. "This is the first major cancer prevention vaccine. The potential, particularly in the undeveloped world, particularly if they can overcome the logistics and get the vaccine to those women, could be enormous. It could prevent 70 percent to 90 percent of those deaths."

Sounds great huh? Well, the best thing to do to make this vaccine effective is to immunize all girls [and boys...thanks Welshman] before they reach puberty, so they don't have a chance of developing cancer. A no-brainer, would save tons of money on health care costs, and some states are already lining up.

But what do those "Family Values" people have to say about saving lives?

From the New Scientist:

In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV.

"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus.

Oh. My. Fucking. God. Vaccinating against HPV, which can easily be transmitted to an erstwhile VIRGIN by her supposedly loyal "husband" is considered a license for lewdness and lascivity? Gimme a fucking break!